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Apply for a License

General Information

The basic requirements for licensing include review of your academic education, supervised clinical experience, and passage of a national competency exam. Applications will be reviewed and approved under laws and rules in effect at time of application.

Application Fee: The non-refundable license application fee, which includes the cost of the required fingerprint-based criminal background check ($46.25), must be paid along with the submission of the online application. Do not complete your criminal background check more than 90 days before submitting your application.

Statutes (Laws) and Administrative Rules:  These contain your legal rights and responsibilities. Please review the licensure laws and rules carefully prior to completing and submitting your application.

Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ for applicants

Requirements

Links to required education, experience & exam requirements can be found below:

Status Updates and Processing Time

All application forms, fees, and background check information must be submitted to the Board before an application is considered complete. Applicants who respond 'yes' to character and fitness questions or have a criminal background can expect a longer processing time. Please be advised that if an application document is found to be insufficient, your application file will be removed from the queue. Once all corrected documents and necessary information are received, application files will be added back to the bottom of the queue.

You may verify your application status and review your application documents via the Applicant Portal.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all documents and forms are received and that timely corrections are made. If you are unsure about which forms to submit, please review the document connection in your portal. For documents marked as “Not Received,” please reach out to the respective person or agency responsible for submitting information on your behalf. For documents in need of correction, please follow the instructions provided in the comment section. You may find board forms here.

A reminder: the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists conducts primary source verification of applicants' education, examination, training, and other jurisdictional licenses, registrations, or certifications (if applicable). Acceptable sources include documents sent directly from the educational institution, supervisor, approved examining organization, or other state licensing/credentialing authority.

Application Methods & Required Forms

Review each application method and decide which best fits your circumstances:

​The associate​ registration method is required for applicants who seek acceptance of post-degree supervised work experience completed in Oregon after June 30, 2002. This method requires the applicant to obtain Board approval of a proposed plan for completing required hours of supervised work experience. See the Associate Registration Page for more detail on the requirements. See OAR 833-050-0021​

Do not use this method if you are an actively Registered Associa​te.​ When you are eligible for promotion to Licensee, you will receive an email with instructions for submitting your Promotion Application. ​​​

Required Materials:

The direct method is required for applicants who seek acceptance of supervised work experience completed in another jurisdiction or in Oregon before June 30, 2002.
This method requires the applicant to document no less than the total minimum number of supervised work experience hours required for licensure, all of which must have been completed prior to the date of application for licensure.​ See OAR 833-020-0041​ ​


​Do not use this method if you are an actively Registered Associate.​ When you are eligible for promotion to Licensee, you will receive an email with instructions for submitting your Promotion Application. ​


​Do not use this method if you are an actively licensed and need to renew. ​ When you are eligible to renew your License, you will receive an email with instructions for submitting your renewal. Please submit your renewal in the License Portal. ​

Required Materials:

​Former applicants, who reapply, may transfer previously filed documents if the documents are available in the Board's office.

Former registered interns, who reapply, may request a new registration number. ​Previously filed degree program information may be transferred if the documents are available in the Board's office. ​ See OAR 833-020-0071​

Required Materials:

​The reciprocity method is required for applicants who ​​​are currently licensed as an LPC or LMFT (or comparable license) in another jurisdiction and seek acceptance of education and supervised work experience previously completed. The reciprocity method requires the applicant to document that the license held in another state is equivalent to the standards required for Oregon licensure as a professional counselor or as a marriage and family therapist. For those applicants who have been licensed in another jurisdiction, some of your licensure time may substitute for a portion of the education and experience requirements. See OAR 833-020-0051​

Required Materials:

​The re-licensure method is required for applicants who were licensed by the Board within the past 2 years. This method requires the applicant, as a previous Board licensee, to request a new license with a new license number, but without documenting further supervised work experience. See OAR 833-020-0061​

Do not use this method if you are currently licensed. If you need to renew your license, please visit the Renewal page.

Required Materials:

* Clinical experience reported on the Post-Degree Supervised Work Experience Form must have been earned in Oregon before 2002 or in another state.

** An official verification is required for each professional license, registration, or certification to practice a healthcare profession in another jurisdiction, whether current or not.

Primary Source Verification
The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists conducts primary source verification of applicants' education, examination, training, and other jurisdictional licenses, registrations, or certifications (if applicable). Acceptable sources include documents sent directly from the educational institution, supervisor, approved examining organization, or other state licensing/credentialing authority. It is the applicants' responsibility to arrange for their documents to be sent to the board.

The states listed below do not send license verifications to other states. In these cases, we can verify a license using the state's online license search tool. Please note that we can only use an online verification if the state does not send verifications directly. Otherwise, we require that verifications be sent directly from the state.
  • Alaska
  • Maine
  • Indiana
  • Colorado
  • Massachusetts
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee

All Forms and submissions must be sent to the Board's office: 
OBLPCT 
3218 Pringle Road SE, Suite 120
Salem, OR 97302
lpct.board@mhra.oregon.gov

Online Application

Apply online through the Applicant Portal.

Important!  If you have already started or submitted an application to the Board, do not start or submit another application in the Applicant Portal.  This will cause a second system entry for you, which will lead to delays in the processing of your application and materials.  Instead, login to the Portal using the email that you have on record with the Board.  You can use the “forgot password” function if you do not remember your password, or if you are unsure which email address you have on record with the Board for your login, please contact us at lpct.board@mhra.oregon.gov.

All application forms, fees and background check information must be submitted to the Board before application is considered complete. If you are unsure which forms to submit, please review the document connection in your portal. 

To ensure you receive notifications concerning a submitted application, add oblpct@thentiacloud.net to your contact and safe list.

You can find additional forms here.

Method of Payment

Payments are made in the Applicant Portal; you may pay with a credit or debit card. Cash, checks, or outside e-payments are not accepted. Refund policy: no refunds.